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I find balance / core exercises make the most difference. A little each week over a 3 month period rather panicking before your ski trip and trying to get fit in the last week works a lot better (got the T-shirt).

Couple of relatively gentle workouts here by Team GB skier Rowan Cheshire for legs and core that you can do without needing gym equipment. Handy to know/do if you dont have access to a gym or cant be bothered paying for one

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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.

@bar shaker, 17lb! you must have put 17lb on then!

Ski the Net with snowHeads

Ski the Net with snowHeads

Hole in your pocket?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@bar shaker, if I remember correctly from your renovation thread you weren’t exactly big in those pictures, you must be feeling the difference with 17lbs off.
Like I said earlier my running has certainly made me feel fitter, it’s the weight I have to work on now, think I may try zero carbs but that will have to wait until I’m back in UK, this French bread 🥖 is to good

And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.

And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.

So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much

So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much

gfmozart wrote:

any folks has a pre-season workout?

In general, I cycle the 12km into work, and back, at tempo, on a 40 year old racing bike. Part of that is off-road so I have 28mm tires. I don't have first day issues but that is maybe from core fitness from the previous season rather than ticking over during the summer on biking. I don't like to over-complicate things.

but as they man said "I'm not getting any younger"

You know it makes sense.

You know it makes sense.

holidayloverxx wrote:

@bar shaker, 17lb! you must have put 17lb on then!

Haha, yep I put on some weight at the start of this year and it just increased by a couple of pounds now and then. It's the Tartiflettes and Raclette's that have done me in Before I knew it, I was well over 13 stone.

I did the 5:2 diet, which really worked for me. I lost 3-4 pound each week, despite putting some muscle on (mostly from the rowing).

Jonny996 I was a bit thinner then. I badly broke my leg 4 years ago and have been told not to run any more. It's something I really miss, but I would only be accelerating the onset of arthritis if I ignored the advise. I ride now instead and try to get in 100+ miles a week. I do a zone 2 fat burn, an HIIT and an endurance ride. The Atom (running Sufferfest and Trainer Road) is great at letting me do these, even when the weather is bad. Dieting in France is virtually impossible for me!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@bar shaker, that's a good mileage per week, if it's mostly on the trainer. Must say that low zone riding on the trainer bores me silly (I can manage not putting the effort in on the open road )

Poster: A snowHead

Poster: A snowHead

dobby wrote:

@bar shaker, that's a good mileage per week, if it's mostly on the trainer. Must say that low zone riding on the trainer bores me silly (I can manage not putting the effort in on the open road )

It's mostly on the road while the weather is still good. That said, it's so much easier to do a productive zone 2 on the Atom than on the road. I always feel like I want a sign on my back, saying "Doing a zone 2 - please pass"

On the trainer it needs BBC iPlayer or some banging tunes though!

The two machines work well together. The rower stretches your hamstrings and builds the back and shoulder muscles. Since using it I haven't had a single back ache on my bike. The bike has helped me get my HR down for the same efforts and I can now stay in my sweet spot (154-165 bpm) on either machine, for extended periods on an endurance session.

The two machines also work well together for skiing. The rower gives leg power and deep compressions, the bike gives endurance. Both give good aerobic and anaerobic performance.

The best thing about both of them is that they need no start up, laptop to start, Windows to update, app to load/update...

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

I’ve been running while over here, from saint gervais centre up the le contimens road until the pavement runs out, it’s a nice view & is its all up hill going out it’s a nice run back.
Had no idea how far it was so MapMyRun it today, was guessing about 5K, turns out it’s 9.6K! Amazing how the sight of the mountains distract you

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I’ve been running while over here, from saint gervais centre up the le contimens road until the pavement runs out, it’s a nice view & is its all up hill going out it’s a nice run back.
Had no idea how far it was so MapMyRun it today, was guessing about 5K, turns out it’s 9.6K! Amazing how the sight of the mountains distract you

I’ve been running while over here, from saint gervais centre up the le contimens road until the pavement runs out, it’s a nice view & is its all up hill going out it’s a nice run back.
Had no idea how far it was so MapMyRun it today, was guessing about 5K, turns out it’s 9.6K! Amazing how the sight of the mountains distract you

That's a decent distance to run at altitude!

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

A nice Balance workout that you can do anywhere without any special equipment

I used to get back pain, and I bought a rowing machine cheap off ebay a few years ago (I was't sure how I'd get on, so didn't want to spend much). When it died after a year or so, I went out and bought a Water Rower. I store it up against the wall at home, and row for 30 minutes several times a week all year round. I used to get aches and pains for the first few days skiing, and struggle a bit when climbing mountains. Since rowing, those aches have gone, and I can ski off piste, or ski tour with a pack, from day 1, with no fitness issues. And I never have back pain. Brilliant!

Running is great cardio and brilliant for overall fitness/weight loss, but not so good for increasing ski leg strength/endurance. The power stroke of a run stride is with the leg straight, or virtually straight. This is why runners are prone to leg joint impact injury. When we ski or board, we do it with permanently bent legs. We use different muscles to runners (eg quads and calves) and we use the similar muscle groups in different ways (eg hamstrings and core).

Anything you do that involves lots of bent legs will be good. Doing squats up and down, with your back sliding against a wall, is a great exercise. Just a few minutes of that will have your quads burning. Another great free exercise is climbing stairs. Climbing 100+ treads a day will do wonders for your ski legs.

Another simple but great exercise is (if you commute) standing on the train, but with your legs bent in a ski stance. The train motion means you must use balance actions to remain stable and the leg muscles will be working in a very similar way to skiing or boarding. Doing that for 30 minutes a day will help massively... even if people look at you strangely!

After all it is free

After all it is free

Chamcham wrote:

I used to get back pain, and I bought a rowing machine cheap off ebay a few years ago (I was't sure how I'd get on, so didn't want to spend much). When it died after a year or so, I went out and bought a Water Rower. I store it up against the wall at home, and row for 30 minutes several times a week all year round. I used to get aches and pains for the first few days skiing, and struggle a bit when climbing mountains. Since rowing, those aches have gone, and I can ski off piste, or ski tour with a pack, from day 1, with no fitness issues. And I never have back pain. Brilliant!

I used to get back pain on a long bike ride. I had narrower bars fitted to help the shoulder pain but the lower back pain couldn't be sorted with bike fitting sessions. To be fair, the geometry of my road bike is very (too) 'aggressive'.

Since rowing most mornings, I have never had back pain on my bike again. I think the benefits to my skiing this winter are going to be huge, from rowing.

30 minutes is a decent row session Chamcham, what sort of meterage are you covering? My pace is now down to just over 2' (/500m) but I rarely row for more than 20 minutes. I'm hoping to get to 5k in under 20 minutes before the season starts, but am around 2 minutes off that at the moment.

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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.

@bar shaker, If I'm just doing stamina, I usually aim for 30 mins or 6 km, whichever comes sooner. Sometimes I finish around 28 mins, sometimes it takes a bit longer. My stroke rate is usually between 30 and 35 s/min. Once a week or so, I'll try some intervals but only for 20 mins or so, raising the stroke rate to 35 for one minute, then backing off to 30 for another minute. I'm using the monitor on the Water Rower, and I've no idea how accurate any of these measurements are.

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I would be constantly in HR Zone 5 at that your rate. I have to stay around 28/9 spm (or less) and even then I'm into Z5 after 10-12 minutes. keeping the stroke rate lower gives me a better overall distance though.

I haven't tried doing intervals. I know I should, but every time I get on it I just want to get a PB for my 15 minutes

As the rower concentrates on upper and lower back, biceps and leg extensions I also do an Ab wheel for 30 reps. This does triceps and Abs/core (good for poling and balance). It's a good complimentary exercise to the rowing as it is all of the opposites. I haven't quite got a six pack, but it's coming!!

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Been a big fan of this routine over the past two ski seasons... short, to the point, a bit brutal but effective.

And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.

And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.

The local exercise class I attend this morning, where the basic squat becomes a 'rest' squat after doing many, many repetitions of all manner of other nastier, harder squats. Never counted how many we do, too busy burning, but when we go back to the basic it does feel a relief!
No doubt that the fact that I have done a lot of these type of exercises over the years help with my skiing. I'm not the world's best skier but when others are saying their legs are burning after a long run, mine rarely do and they can be better skiers than I, which then makes me think I must be doing something wrong/have poor technique or something.
Off to get ready for my torture now. 😅

So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much

So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much

If you don't have access to a gym and want to start getting in shape for skiing/boarding, this is the single one exercise you must include in your regime...

I have heard it argued that wall squats aren't that great for ski exercise - not the pose you ski in, after all. Just squatting free in a natural (ish) ski stance and either holding it there or gently and continuously moving a little bit up, a little bit down will replicate skiing much better; and for me tires the muscles so much faster compared to a static hold.

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Poster: A snowHead

@Grizzler, the wall squat is a 'stress' position that works the muscles far harder than in a normal ski position.

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person

@bar shaker, I can't find the link now, but I have seen it argued otherwise in terms of ski conditioning. Might have been "bumps for boomers" - a US site. (One of the ones which I researched during my knee rehab, anyway.)
Static and dynamic exercises are both important, skiing being a dynamic activity. Some squats also recruit in the hamstrings, which is helpful. Leg blasters and various eccentric and 'explosive' versions all come recommended from what I see.
My quads will quite happily hold a wall squat for a fair while, or any other kind of static one, but dynamically they scream blue murder (as they do on the slopes in real life). Clearly they find the stress the other way around to you. Each to his or her own

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Grizzler wrote:

My quads will quite happily hold a wall squat for a fair while, or any other kind of static one, but dynamically they scream blue murder (as they do on the slopes in real life).

When I am doing a free standing squat, my hamstrings need to be much more extended than when I am in my skiing position. I think this results in them taking more of the load than my quads. It is always my quads that scream when my legs tire on the slopes, never my hamstrings. I think this is because the angle between my torso and femurs is too open for them to be doing much work and because the hamstrings are a 'twitch' muscle which gives lots of low strength reps.

The quads are the power pistons of the legs and give high power strokes, but can't last very long. My own thoughts are that it is our quads that get most used and most battered by skiing... and this is where our leg strengthening needs to concentrate.

@under a new name, according to latest instruction it isn't; and I have repeatedly asked and checked, several times. I certainly would otherwise cannot find a way to get it as forward as I would like - and believe me I have tried, from boot to stance - and then I'm told it's too far forward! Blame it on the big bum, long back, short feet and long femurs (or summat): but I think that my quads just like to hurt anyway, no matter what I do. Just proved that on a pleasant afternoon's 'stroll'.
Course, I'm probably just unfit...

Hamstrings, quads, glutes, lower back and core all working smoothly but efficiently in a 25 minute stint. The idea of Zone 2 workouts is to increase mitochondria density, giving huge benefits in stamina and strength.

After all it is free

After all it is free

rowing every time for me, both on ergs and on water. When combined with differing timed segments and ratings its one of the best cardio and muscle workouts

You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.

You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.